I'm sure I like all of your choices, but this still a pretty good outline of superhero teams. I tried to put together my mixed setting more than once, but something always felt out of place in my line-ups, so I pretty much gave up. Maybe it's time to get back to work on it.My biggest gripe is your version of the JLI, while the rooster is certainly representative of the best heroes of Earth I think it has one major problem: Too many leaders, there are at least 4 character within the ranks that are either leaders or inspirational figures (Superman, Captain America, Wonder Woman and Black Panther), which seem bound to cause some serious clashes.

The Doctor wrote:People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff.

DAWN OF TIME

BEFORE ALL ELSE The Endless come into existence. They appear in order: Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delight.

c. 20,000,000,000 B.C. The current universe is created.

c. 20,000,000,000 B.C. At exactly one Planck time unit (roughly 10^−43 seconds) after the creation of the universe The Great Time War ends. Only one Time Lord survives and he remains the only being -- short of the Endless -- to know when in the distant future it will have begun.

c. 18,000,000,000 B.C.GodWorld is formed.

c. 17,000,000,000 B.C. Life begins to evolve on GodWorld.

c. 15,000,000,000 B.C. Humanoid beings on the GodWorld who would become known as the Old Gods fought a series of titanic wars.

BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO

c. 10,000,000,000 B.C. The GodWorld is destroyed in a great war. The Old Gods are killed, and the "Godwave" is unleashed on the universe. This creates the forces in the universe (e.g, the metagene, magic, etc.) that will allow certain superpowers to work.

c. 9,999,999,999 B.C. The remains of Godworld form the twin planets Genesis and Apokolips. Only two of the Old Gods survive, one who will come to be called All-Father (also known as Rao, Zeus, Krom, Odin, etc.) and one whom will come to be know as Darkseid (or Thanatos, Chronos, Ragnarok, etc.). Each of them will create a society of New Gods in their own image, the New Gods are effectively immortal and if killed through violence will, eventually, be reborn on their homeworld. These two soceities form the basis of every known pantheon in the universe and their constant battles against each other frequently result in mutual annihilation.

c. 5,000,000,000 B.C. The first sentinet species evolve on Kyrpton (Kryptonians), Oa (Oans), Goa'ri (Goa'uld), and Skrullos (Skrull). In time they would come to be collectivly known as the Eternals. Each of these incredibly long-lived races is identiffied with a certain cosmic tennant: Oans - Order, Skrulls - Chaos, Kryptonians - Justice, and the Goa'uld - Self-Interest. In the modern era, very few Eternals remain and they interact with the galaxy mostly by through pawns and proxys.

c. 5,000,000,000 B.C. A fifth sentient species evolves, but remains hidded from the others, these are the Time-Lords of Gallifrey. As a whole they are sworn to neutrality and non-interference. The first species in the known cosmos to develop time travel, their history is largely unrecordable by any.

c. 4,900,000,000 B.C. The great-link of liquiform Skrulls on their homeworld becomes self-aware and devours its own biome, this Supreme Intelligence is now worshipped by all Skrulls. It wanders the galaxy seeking new worlds to consume and is feared by all as Galactus.

c. 4,500,000,000 B.C. Goa'uld geneticists successfully engineer a means by which their may use their natural parasitic abilites on nearly any species, not just the few they had naturally evolved to inhabit. Oan physical frailty makes them unsuitable, Skrull shapeshiting makes them impossible, but the physical might of Kryptonians is considered ideal. The Goa'uld and Kryptonians are soon locked into bitter war.

c. 4,000,000,000 B.C. The Oans now known as The Guardians of Order declare themselves to be the keepers of cosmic law throughout the universe. They bind all the wild magic in the universe into the M'Kron Crystal at the farthest reaches of space.

c. 3,900,000,000 B.C. The Skrulls, a race of natural shapeshifters, consider the Guardians obession with order a grave threat. The Skrulls worship change, dynamism and chaos. These two Eternal races begin a rivalry that will last for billions of years.

c. 3,900,000,000 B.C. The Krpytonians found an elite fighting force that uses advanced technology to retain yellow-sun energy anywhere. They are dedicated to combating the Goa'uld and will come to be known as the Eradicators.

c. 3,000,001,000 B.C. The Guardians create the Manhunter androids to serve as their agents. However, they eventually rebel against their masters having been corrupted by the Skrulls.

c. 3,000,000,000 B.C. The Guardians replace the Manhunters with living agents, the Green Lantern Corps.

c. 1,000,000,000 B.C. The Green Lantern Corps and the Eradicators drive the Goa'uld out of our galaxy.

ANCIENT TIMES

c. 50,000 B.C. The Cro-Magnon hunter, Vandar Adg gains immortality from exposure to a strange meteor, setting him on the path to becoming the evil Vandal Savage.

c. 30,000 B.C. The first homo sapien man, known today as Adam, is born. He will become a leader among early humans.

c. 30,000 B.C. The Guardians of the Universe finally conquer the Skrull Empire, and accomplish mass genetic tampering with the species, giving them a weakness to fire, rendering them mortal, sundering their empire and scattering them across the galaxy. Several billion of them are exiled/marooned on Mars.

c. 20,000 B.C. A plague wipes out most of the Martian-Skrull race.

c. 20,000 B.C. A great civilization, rich in both magic and technology, forms on the outer edges of space near the M'Kron Crystal. This civilization evolves rapidly, and comes to call itself the Shi'ar Empire.

c. 15,000 B.C. The Green Lantern Corps discovers the use of magic by the Shi'ar, and is dispatched en masse by the Guardians to put an end to this new threat to cosmic order. Seeking to draw more and more energy from the M'Kron Crystal the Shi'Ar accidentally destroy it, releasing a beaing of pure chaotic energy which the identify with their most sacred deity, the Phoenix.

c. 14,999 B.C. The Phoenix Force decimates the Green Lantern Corps, destroys most the Guardians of Oa, and generally wreaks havoc as magic returns the universe.

c. 10,000 B.C. The Goa'uld, who had conqueored their new home galaxy millions of years earlier, have remained in isolation ever since. For unknown reasons, they awake and begin their slow jounrey into this galaxy. They are held at bay by their eternal rivals, the Kryptonians, and the few remaining Green Lanterns.

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO

c. 1,000 B.C. To protect the Amazons from persecution, some of the New Gods known as the Olympians transport the warrior-women to the island of Themyscira.

c. 500 C.E. In the early 6th century Merlin gives the Once and Future King, Arthur Pendragon, magical equipment and instructon. King Arthur founds Camelot and forms the Round Table ushering in the Mythic Age. The evil Morgan Le Fay destroys Camelot, imprissons Merlin in the Rock of Ages, and is herself trapped in the Otherworld.

EARLY 20th CENTURY

1920: The first public debut of mutants, when an 24 year old American scientist, Charles Xavier (with assitance from his German counter-part Erik Lensherr) publsihes a paper on their discovery of the Metagene. The world at large reacts with fear and loathing at the thought "Xavier's New Men." Newspapers across Europe and America denounce these "x-men" as freaks of nature. In Germany, the National Socialist Party adds mutants to their lists of untermensch ("subhumans").

1938: During the interwar period, the U.S. Government secretly develops a project to create super soldiers to fight in future wars, but it was sabotaged by a Nazi agent and the full formula was lost. Only one soldier, Steve Rogers, was given the full super soldier treatment. Rogers was given the secret identity of Captain America to be a morale-boosting symbol. Other nations across the globe engage in super soldier research projects at this time, including Nazi Germany.

December 7, 1941: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brings the U.S.A. into the second World War.

1942: When America entered the war, President Roosevelt himself arranged for several "mystery men" heroes to form a team called The Invaders, to perform missions against the Axis Powers and their super agents. Several costumed villains had important roles among the Nazis, most infamously the Nazi Super Soldier code-named the Red Skull and Japan's Silver Samurai.

1951: The Invaders disband, after being persecuted under McCarthyist paranoia. Superhero activity declines (but doesn't totally disappear) afterwards. In response to this as well as the rapidly escalating cold wat between the USSR and the West, the United States government forms the covert organization S.H.E.I.L.D. to fill the gap left by the departing heroes. The British govenment follows suit with the creation of CHECKMATE. The Soviet Union responds in the creation of HYDRA.

1952: Rao the anceint sun of the planet Krypton explodes. The Kryptonian scientist Jor-El manages to save his baby son, Kal-El by sending him to Earth through a transdimensional gateway. The planet's remains become kryptonite. The cosmic energy wave released travels across the galaxy at tremendous speeds, passing through Earth's solar system a mere decade later.

November 1, 1962: Doctor Reed Richards, his fiance Dr. Susan Storm, and their companions Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm are expossed to cosmic energy cast off by the death of Krytpon during a scientific space mission. The metagenes of all four activate, and they gain fantastic superhuman powers and become the adventurers known popularly as The Fantastic Four.

1970: Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, yearns for a child and prays to the gods to grant her wish. During an intense hurricane, American pilot Steve Trevor is forced to crash land on the hidden island. He is the first outsider to arrive in nearly 3,000 years. Hippolyta takes him as a husband, and is soon pregnant with his child.

1971: Hippolyta gives birth to the first Amazon child, whom she names Diana. In a closely guarded secret, known only to the Queen and her Consort, a twin brother is born. Steve Trevor flees Themscria with the male infant.

1972:Bruce Wayne is born to Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne.

1973:Kal-El arrives on the outsirks of a small Kansas farm, Jonathan and Martha Kent find him. They adopt him and name him Clark Kent.

1979: A mugger murders Thomas and Martha Wayne in what will come to be known as "Crime Alley" in Gotham City. Their son Bruce swears to fight a war on crime. The killer is never caught.

1982: After twenty years of adventure, the Fantastic Four announce their retirement.

1985: A group of super-powered heroes operating in New York City's Harlem and Hell's Kitchen neighborhoods, consisting of Power Man, Black Lightning, Iron Fist, Green Arrow and others appears. They call themselves The Defenders but due to a habit of accpeting donations from the neighborhoods they protect are smeared in the media as "Heroes for Hire."

1987: Bruce Wayne begins his training in a variety of disciplines.

1990: HYDRA discovers a Kryptonian Stargate in Egypt, the device is captured by SHIELD before HYDRA can unlock its secrets.

THE MODERN HEROIC AGE

1995:Clark Kent, age 22, emerges as Superman. This inspires a new generation of superheroes to debut soon afterward. In his civilian guise as a criminal defense lawyer, he joins the staff of the New York Public Defenders Office.

1995:Bruce Wayne, age 23, begins his career as The Batman. Selina Kyle is inspired by Batman to become Catwoman shortly after. The Joker appears by the year's end.

1995:Diana, age 24, princess of the Amazons, arrives in America, where she takes the costumed identity of Wonder Woman. She too creates a civilian identity for herself as Donna Troy, owner of a small antiques shop.

1996:Dick Grayson, age 13, debuts as Robin.

1996:Peter Parker, age 15, is bitten by a radioactive spider. Gaining great powers, he initally wastes them on petty gain. But, when his Uncle Ben is murdered, he vows to live up to his great responisbilty. Parker debuts as Spider-Man soon after.

1997:Wally West, age 15, makes his debut as The Flash.

1998: Injured in battle against a Goa'uld fleet, the sole remaining member of the Green Lantern Corps, Abin Sur of Ungara, chooses young Air Force pilot Hal Jordan, age 20, to succeed him as the last Green Lantern.

1998:Barbara Gordon, age 17, makes her debut as Batgirl.

2000: Batgirl and Robin with assistance from Spider-Man foil a scheme by the Riddler to disrupt the Florida presidential election, the trio become good freinds and are dubbed by the media as the Teen Titans.

Janurary 20, 2001: John F. Kerry is sworn in as the 42nd President of the United States.

September 11, 2001: Islamic Terrorists destroy the World Trade Center, and heavily damage the Pentagon in an unpredcedented terrorist attack.

October 11, 2001: As a reaction to the events of 9/11, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman form the Justice League. The Flash and Green Lantern are soon persuaded to join the new League.

2002: Dick Grayson, now age 18, is Robin is "fired" by Batman.

2002: Shortly after leaving the mantle of Robin, Dick Grayson makes his debut in Detroit as Nightwing.

2002: The Titans offically drop "Teen" from their name, although not all of the media is quick to adopt the new moniker.

2002: The Joker shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon, never realizing she is secretly his frequent foe Batgirl.

2003:Katar Hol comes to Earth from the Shi'Ar Empire, and takes the identy of Hawkman.

2003:Tim Drake, then age 13, becomes the second Robin.

2003: After the Justice League dismantles al-Qaedia in Afganistan and the brutal Taliban government, many UN member states begin to express grave concern about so much power residing in this "American" superteam. Superman reassures the world that the League is international in scope by officially renouncing his (honorary)American citizenship and signing a new charter that makes them an official UN Peacekeeper mission, named the Justice League International. Several new members from outside the United States are recruited, including Captain Britain, Crimson Fox, and the Black Panther.

2004:Lex Luthor is elected president of the United States of America. Justine Hammer becomes the first woman elected as Vice-President.

2005: A strange group of teenagers and young adults with uncanny powers debut, stopping the mutant terrorist Magneto from detonating America's nucelar arsenal at a Colorado Air Force Base. These four heroes called themselves Angel, Beast, Cyclops, and Phoenix. Upon learning they are mutants, the media dubs them The X-Men.

2005: The Fantastic Four is persuaded by SHEILD to investigate the possibilty that Magneto is building a fortress at the Artic magnetic pole, they find no sign of Magneto but they do discover Captain America frozen since the last days of WWII.

2005: Captain America returns to duty in the modern age, and is added to the Justice League's roster at the incistance of President Luthor.

2006: After a year of intense rivalry and distrust, Batman quits the Justice League rather than continue to work with Captain America. The final mission the two serve on together ends in tragedy, as the two issue contrary orders in the field and Crimson Fox is captured and ultimatly executed by HYDRA.

2007: Lex Luthor is revealed to have been conducting secret negotiations with Magneto. Luthor has been allowing Magneto to bring American mutants to a secret facility on Earth's Moon in exchange for a steady rare lunar elements. Luthor is impeached and removed from office. The UN recognizes Luna as an soveriegn state.

2008: Tainted by the Magneto Scandal, Hammer looses her re-elecetion bid and Barack Obama is elected as the next President of the United States.

2008: A group of young teenaged heroes, led by Oracle, are gathered as the new Teen Titans.

2009: In an event that will become known as The Loki Incident a Skrull warband launches an assault on New York City, Gen. Jack O'Neill of SHIELD greenlights SWORD Team-07. Led by Colonel Nick Fury this team is dubbed The Avengers by member Janet van Dyne, the winsome Wasp, who is the only fatality during the attack. The Avengers turn back the invasion without any assistance from the Justice League and continue to operate as the USA's premire super team.

2010: Luke Cage, semi-retired since the 1990s, gives the name the Defenders to Doctor Marvel, after she and her teammates assist him in bringing The Purple Man to justice.

2011: Batman concludes that the Justice League places to much emphasis on world-wide crisis and that the Avengers are too much the pawn of the government. Heis also concerned over the rising number of militant and agressive "anti-heroes" operating today. Seeking to direct these individuals to his own ends, he recruits them into The Outsiders.

Woodclaw wrote:My biggest gripe is your version of the JLI, while the rooster is certainly representative of the best heroes of Earth I think it has one major problem: Too many leaders, there are at least 4 character within the ranks that are either leaders or inspirational figures (Superman, Captain America, Wonder Woman and Black Panther), which seem bound to cause some serious clashes.

The League works mostly because those four inspirational figures are also willing, for the most part, to let go of the reins when needed, if T'Challa has the expertise to deal with a situation, Clark, Steve, and Diana let him take the lead... and vice-versa. Having said that, it is not a flawless system and personality clashes and interpersonal politics have led to some disasters in the League's history.

I also don't have the League constantly hanging out at an orbital clubhouse or Hall of Justice, they're basically all operating as solo heroes 90% of the time, coming together only in response to big emergencies... and even then, rarely will the full line-up be available -- Green Lantern might be off-world, Captain Marvel in some magical dimension, Black Panther is elusive enough to make the Batman seem sociable, and any single on of them might be wrapped up in solo drama.

They're mostly around so my player's have something to aspire to or a "panic button" in case one of them accidentally summons Galactus.

Also in a carry over from my last campaign world, Steve and Diana are a couple. So that eases things in some ways and adds stress in others...

Severance wrote:Neat groups of heroes Batgirl! Though when I saw Wolverine working with Batman, I could only imagine the near fistfights they would possibly get into.

The Outsiders, pretty much as a rule, where chosen to be that rare sort of anti-hero that really is heroic. Although I don't see Bruce and Logan going out for drinks together, they're all the sort of personality that can put aside any grudges in order to get the job done.

Much like the JLI, these guys don't really spend much time together and operate on a sort of "on call" basis. When a threat appears that the Batman feels he needs them to handle, the call goes out. Rhodey and Logan might never share a beer together, but they'll do the job.

Dr. Waldman wrote:Dr. Waldman: We are about to unfold the story of Frankenstein, a man of science who sought to create a man after his own image without reckoning upon God. It is one of the strangest tales ever told. It deals with the two great mysteries of creation – life and death. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even – HORRIFY you. So if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now's your chance to – uh, well, we warned you.

BACKGROUNDFrankenstein is a 1931 horror monster film from Universal Pictures, starring Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and... okay, forget the rest of the cast, they're all fine character actors but the real star is Boris Karloff. The movie huge hit with both audiences and critics, the film was followed by multiple sequels and became one of the most iconic horror films in movie history. The film is a rough adaptation of a stage play based on the Mary Shelley novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Now, although I am rather fond of the original novel... Let's be honest, shall we? Even if you have a Ph.D. in Gothic Romance literature and wrote your dissertation on Shelley's novel, when some one says the name "Frankenstein" the first image that pops into your mind is Boris Karloff.

Fun bit of trivia, we all know that the creature isn't named "Frankenstein," but did you know that Dr. Frankenstein's assistant isn't named "Igor"? His name is Fritz.

And because I know at least one of you will ask for it:

The Monster Mash wrote:

Bobby 'Boris' Pickett wrote:I was working in the lab late one night. When my eyes beheld an eerie sight.For my monster from his slab began to rise. And suddenly to my surprise -- He did The Mash! -- He did the Monster Mash!

COMPLICATIONSEnemy: Shakar Hel has not forgotten that it was Hawkman and his allies that brought down the government he once served. Although he has little desire to return to that life, he is not the sort of man that forgives. Ever.Power Loss: The power ring needs periodic recharging and issues a warning when its power runs low.Reputation: Shakar Hel is considered a war criminal by the Thanagarian government, and is wanted by the Starlag Prision.Rivalry: Although the Sinestro Corps War is finished, Hel still bears a grudge against the Green Lantern Corps (and Sinestro himself).

Shakar Hel of Thanagar (Sector 2682) was a soldier and paramilitary commander served the Thanagarian dictatorship that came to power in the wake of the Equalizer Plague, before it was eventually brought down by Katar and Shayera Hol. Shakar Hel performed a number of key roles in the dictatorial government, including reviewing the "appeals"for those convicted of capital crimes and personally overseeing the firing squads. Hel was also named commander of the Wingmen's Internal Services, the feared police-within-the-police of Thanagarian's already feared Hawk-Police.

As Internal Services' commander, Hel was a harsh disciplinarian who sometimes shot "traitors" or "corrupt" officers. Even officers guilty of the most minor infraction could be punished as traitors, and Hel was known to send squads to track the families of those suspected of offenses. As a result, Hel became feared for his brutality and ruthlessness. In the wake of the Thanagarian dictatorship's collapse, Hel was imprissoned as a war criminal and mass murderer. His attorneys feared that Hel would not be safe in Thanagarian prisons -- many of the guards and wardens had been among his victims -- so he was instead turned over to the Starlag.

For his "ability to instill great fear," a Yellow Power Ring sought him out in his maximum security levels of the Starlag. With his new power, he escaped with ease and served with distinction during the Sinestro Corps War and the Blackest Night Crisis.

As a Thanagarian, Shakar Hel possesses several gifts that are common to members of his race, but set him apart from normal humans. A Thanagarian's life span is significantly greater than that of a normal human being. At 120 years of age, Hel is in the prime of his life, resembling a human of about 40 years. As a Thanagarian Hel is also physically heartier than the average Earth human: stronger, faster, with greater stamina, and a greater resistance to pain. As a former Wingman, Hel is an expert at hand-to-hand combat and possesses an affinity for seemingly archaic melee weaponry.

Just for fun, a Yellow Lantern that could conceivably be used as an anti-hero in a "All Lanterns" campaign. Ideally, Hel would have the 2e Master Plan advantage, with a kind GM's permission.